PurityS.L.G
Well-known member
EL34 version. There is a LOT to tackle with this amp.
My first impressions;
1. Power amp switch (U, Hair+, Hair) is almost useless IMO. U and Hair are so far forward with boxy mids and lack of balls, I had trouble finding uses for them. Hair+ is where its at but initially way too dark and scooped sounding. I feel like its mislabeled and Hair+ should be the U setting.
2. Channel one controls is the return of the dreaded Twin Jet. They are highly interactive and do not do what it says like you expect. It took me 10 mins to finally catch on to that and when I did, I got the results I was sort of looking for.
3. The cleans are actually some of the best cleans I have played in a high gain amp. Very AC30 like. Also can match the volume of channel 2 for once!
4. Crunch channel is fun and when you crank it up, you get some glorious vintage Marshall-esque roar. You can even add in those piercing highs as well if you want. Which leads me to...
5. Channel 1 is bright at all times. There's some high frequencies you can't dial out, even with an EQ in the loop and darker voiced pickups. Very clanky and gets old pretty quick. This channel is based of the Ch.1 of the TJ no doubt, but more flexible.
6. Channel 2 is where all the goodness is at and it delivers. Much more useable than Ch. 1 as its nowhere near as bright. My head is still spinning on how many tonal options you can dial in. You can get it as loose or stupid unnecessary tight and everything in between. Scooped mids, Marshall quack, Mesa girth, Orange grind and sludge. Seriously, this amp is crazy versatile.
7. The new controls: Metamorphic acts as a bass cut. Fully clockwise is full girth and as you dial back, the tighter the bass response and punch gets. Tight mode is tight and modern. Fat keeps the uber giant low end characteristic we all love or hate. Density knob is now what the presence knob of the Rev Blue and Green was but backwards. Fully clockwise gives you the giant mid scooped bass heavy sound of the OG's and as you dial it back it adds in the mids. Boost function is a nice and welcome addition. Its a clean boost so no coloring of the tone. Only adds in more saturation.
8. Versus my Rev Blue and TJ, they are all 3 different and really not that much alike. The blue has more bass but in a bad way. Ultra has more bass and punch than the TJ. I can only imagine when I load this thing up with KT88's.
Of all the modes on Ch.2 the Uber mode is my favorite since it stays close to the OG's voicing the most but this amp still has its own thing going on, especially in Ultra mode. I can see myself loving that mode more and maybe eventually being my favorite as I spend more time with the amp. I've only had a chance so far to play it on my Uberkab, ENGL XXL Pro and Framus Dragon cab w/ UK GB's. Amp gets along with all 3 of those cabs so far and Its a tie between the Bogner and Framus cab at the moment. Amp takes OD pedals very well too. So far I've only tried my Kernom Ridge, Tumnus, ST9 Pro+ and Naga Viper with it. All with success.
This amp is going to take a while to figure out and I have much more experimenting to do but I promise to post clips of all 3 of my ubers for comparison for you guys when I do get more comfortable with the Ultra.
EDIT: I should note that Ch. 2 TMB controls react as they should and are nothing like the TJ-ish headache of Ch. 1. Its a bit baffling as to why they did this.
tldr; Ch. 1 is brighter than shit and not that great so far. Ch. 2 is fantastic and I've yet still barely scratched the surface on it. Need more time with it.
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